About Michelle Rossi Expertise My area of research is in regards to feline diet and digestive physiology as well as history of domestication and how it applies to dietary adaptation in Felis catus.
Experience In total, between my own pet cats and the ones Ive taken in/ re-homed as rescues, I have fed a total of over 95 cats and kittens a natural, raw diet.
I have a cumulative of 7 years worth of experience, from feeding a partly prey and partly processed food diet to a completely prey (home bred quail, young home bred chickens, captive bred feeder rodents/ rabbits) and raw meaty bones diet (chicken neck bones and wings), which I currently feed.
I have assisted numerous people in formulating a raw diet which is suited for their animals and their lifestyle.
Education/Credentials Biology degree with an emphasis in Ag and animal husbandry related courses.
I have worked in veterinary medicine and am currently completing my RVT certification. I was accepted into a veterinary medicine program, but due to unforeseen life changes, I am currently unable to begin vet school.
Please consider that I am not a veterinarian, nor do I play on on TV. ;-) I will offer advice to the limit of my own knowledge and when in doubt of my own qualifications to address specific issues, I will refer to you a medical professional who is more suited.
For a good book about carnivore diet, I recommend "Raw Meaty Bones Promote Health," by Dr. Tom Lonsdale DVM
Here are Dr. Londales suggestions for feeding cats and dogs:
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/diet/exp-diet-guide.pdf
Here is a partial list of veterinarians who are supportive of natural feeding:
Lisa A. Pierson, DVM
DrPierson@catinfo.org
Question How much taurine does a cat need daily to remain healthy? I have found contradictory information online. Since the catfood recall, I am feeding my kitties cooked dark turkey and dark chicken meat and canned clams as sources of taurine, but wonder if I need to add a supplement.
Answer Hi Jane,
Dark poultry meat, such as turkey and chicken contain high amounts of taurine, so you're on the right track. Cooking depletes the amount of bio-available nutrients and taurine content, as well as helpful enzymes that aid in digestion. I would offer the meat raw or very gently seared. For some cats who do not like it raw, it is sometimes simply a matter of warming it up a bit for them to accept it. I put the meat in a zip lock bag and let it sit in a bowl of hot water for a couple minutes and then serve it to the cat immediately.
I believe that this is one area of research that needs more attention. The "ideal" feline diet is one that is comparable to her natural feeding tendances. Meaning, that whatever she is fed should be modeled after the prey based diet that she would be eating naturally.
This is where it becomes challenging to provide precise numbers, because the taurine analysis of whole prey (rodents, small birds, etc) is unavailable, so far unpublished, as far as I am aware.
Here is some interesting information from the website I provided above:
"There's always the question how much taurine may be present in a whole mouse carcass since it is a natural prey of cats. So far, I was not able to find any scientific source to verify data. C.J. Puotinen claims that a typical mouse will contain 2.4 mg/g taurine or (for better comparison with the other values: 100 g would contain 240mg or 1 kg of mouse carcass would raise these values up to 2400 mg). Unfortunately, he does not indicate his source of reference. The same values have been published in Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, 4th Edition, various contributors, published 2000 by Mark Morris Institute. Well, actually they say that the taurine content of mouse carcass is 7000mg/kg but on a dry matter basis. Since mice are 60-65 water the conversion will bring it down to the values Puotinen published. Again, no source of reference. If these values are correct then - compared to Laidlows findings - dark turkey meat sure would meet the values of an equal amount of mouse carcass or even exceed it."
With the dark poultry meat you're providing, I would not be worried about the lack of taurine.
However, since you didn't mention it, I do wonder if you are providing a calcium source, and other supplemental nutrients? It really is not difficult to prepare your own balanced diet. Again, simply look at natures model for guidance. For instance, a whole prey animal will offer a cat roughly the following:
10-15% edible bones
10% organs (1/5 of this being liver)
75-80% meat, skin, fat, connective tissues, and other "by-products"
The bulk of the diet is "meat," so you are on the right track. Just be sure that you are providing the other necessary elements as well. The average adult cat needs only about 8oz of liver per month, 8oz of other mixed organs, and about 1 -1.5lbs of bone per month. Really, these amounts are not that substantial, but they are very important in creating a balanced diet.
